The Slap Heard Round the World: Some Rabbinic Commentary

 

The Academy Awards ceremony has become excruciatingly boring – until now. On Sunday night, Will Smith, in reaction to a joke about his wife, slapped Chris Rock. Rock recovered and continued with the show, and, shortly afterwards, Smith won the award for Best Actor.

And now people will keep talking about this for a very long time. (Sigh…)

A few things are clear: violence is wrong, angry people do stupid things, it was an embarrassing moment for all involved, and (close to my heart) standup comedy can be dangerous. Leaving aside whether the apology is enough or what the punishment should be, there are some lessons we can learn from this incident, some Rabbinic commentary:

1) Violence is never the way to respond.

Judaism abhors violent reactions. The Talmud (Bava Kamma 90a) discusses the consequences of slapping someone. There are serious financial penalties involved. These laws are codified by Maimondes and Shulchan Aruch. Beyond any punishment, perpetrating violence is wicked. Even raising a hand without hitting is wicked. As Sanhedrin 58b teaches: “One who raises his hand to strike another, even if he ultimately does not strike him, is called wicked.” It is frightening that some would condone a violent reaction to a joke.

We must reinforce what every nursery student hears, “Keep your hands to yourself.”

2) We need to find the right role models.

We live in a society that places celebrities on a pedestal. Thankfully, we also know how to put other important and inspiring figures on pedestals – first responders, teachers, elders, and maybe even rabbis. We cannot ignore, however, that something is a little “rotten in the state of Denmark.” What the world witnessed on Sunday night was a faulty foundation upon which our admiration may be built.

Rabbi Norman Lamm identifies a timely lesson from the Haftorah of Parshat Tazria (which we don’t read this week due to it being Rosh Chodesh.) The reading describes the Aramean general, Naaman, who defeated the Jews. He was “gibor chayil u’metzora.” He was a hero and (for lack of a better term) a leper. Here is how Rabbi Lamm understands the episode:

“Naaman…a symbol and picture of modern society: powerful, but a leper. The very boldness of this juxtaposition is expressive of a painful paradox of Western civilization: technologically powerful, but ethically leprous; scientifically progressive, but spiritually regressive; materially mighty, but morally a midget. From the distance, when you behold this…this powerful man who symbolizes modern society, you think he is self-confident, assertive, optimistic, problem-solving. But draw closer to him and you see that he is a metzora, a leper, corrupt, fearful, in despair, uncertain, and perplexed…”

We can certainly find benefit and even inspiration in the world of entertainment and culture. At the same time, we need to make sure to obtain a healthy dose of spiritual sustenance and values from the impeccable sources of faith, tradition, and those who teach and model them. 

3) We might benefit from bringing tzara’at back, but it’s up to us.

Tzara’at, usually mistranslated as leprosy, is a skin disease that is the spiritual or religious indicator that a person is not speaking properly. A person who has tzara’at goes into seclusion, a religious "time out," to contemplate their actions. If the individual successfully addresses the root cause of their transgression, the tzara'at will disappear, and it is back to everyday life - after an appropriate sacrificial atonement. Tzara’at is meant to deter malicious speech.

Not anymore. Everywhere we turn, we hear loud, divisive, and outrageous statements being made. Imagine how much better it would be if we had to really worry about getting tzara’at! Instead, it is up to us to control ourselves and model speech as well as behavior that is thoughtful, reasonable, and honorable.

From all the signals and messages around us, it is easy to fall into saying or doing whatever we want. People have lost a sense of proportion and self-control. We seem to feel like our first impulse is the right course of action without the patience, tolerance, and humility to think through our course of action. That’s unacceptable and conduct unbecoming a mensch.

The world around us is full of chaos. The slap heard round the world is another example of the direction society seems to be heading. It is up to us to take a stand in our own corner of the world that violence is no way to respond, that our award winners will be true role models, and, even without a skin disease deterrent, that we aspire to acting deliberately with patience and kindness.

I invite Will Smith, Chris Rock, and the Academy to join the effort.